On Friday, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė officially submitted two names to President Gitanas Nausėda – Radvila Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, the elder of the Conservative group, is proposed to become the Minister of Education, Science and Sport. In contrast, Vytautas Šilinskas, the current Deputy Minister, is proposed to become the Minister of Social Security and Labour.
The portal lrytas.lt wrote last week that, according to sources, one of the leading candidates for the post of Minister of Education is Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė.
Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė has served on the Education and Science Committee in the current and 2019–2020 Seimas terms. Šilinskas is currently Deputy Minister of Social Security and Labour, where he was previously responsible for labour law, the labour market, occupational safety and health, and social insurance (except pensions), and where he was in charge of the Sodra, the Employment Service and the State Labour Inspectorate, which are all subordinated to the Ministry.
„Both Radvilė and Vytautas are members and active participants in the political team that implemented the changes of this mandate.
Both of them will likely complete the work planned for this term with honour, as they have the necessary political experience and the capacity and willingness to engage in discussions with communities in these areas.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will undoubtedly focus on preparing for the next school year, taking into account, among other things, the positive experiences and mistakes of the 2023–2024 period and the further implementation of the National Agreement on Education.
In the area of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the vast majority of the legislative plan for the term of office has been approved or will be approved shortly, so we will need to focus on smooth practical implementation,“ Šimonytė is quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Government.
Last week, President Nausėda and Prime Minister Šimonytė met to discuss possible candidates for these ministries. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister presented the ministerial candidates to the Head of State.
However, after the meeting, neither Nausėda nor Šimonytė disclosed the names of the candidates.
For his part, Nausėda told journalists that „at this minute“, the candidates were suitable. He intends to meet the ministerial contenders next week.